Author
Topic: TAR Disaster Curse (Read 91232 times)

Police said 200 to 300 bodies were found in the northeastern coastal city of Sendai. Another 88 were confirmed killed and at least 349 were missing. The death toll was likely to continue climbing given the scale of the disaster.

The magnitude 8.9 offshore quake unleashed a 23-foot (7-meter) tsunami and was followed by more than 50 aftershocks for hours, many of them of more than magnitude 6.0.

Dozens of cities and villages along a 1,300-mile (2,100-kilometer) stretch of coastline were shaken by violent tremors that reached as far away as Tokyo, hundreds of miles (kilometers) from the epicenter.

Even for a country used to earthquakes, this one was of horrific proportions because of the tsunami that crashed ashore, swallowing everything in its path as it surged several miles (kilometers) inland before retreating. The apocalyptic images of surging water broadcast by Japanese TV networks resembled scenes from a Hollywood disaster movie.

Large fishing boats and other sea vessels rode high waves into the cities, slamming against overpasses or scraping under them and snapping power lines along the way. Upturned and partially submerged vehicles were seen bobbing in the water. Ships anchored in ports crashed against each other.

The highways to the worst-hit coastal areas were severely damaged and communications, including telephone lines, were snapped. Train services in northeastern Japan and in Tokyo, which normally serve 10 million people a day, were also suspended, leaving untold numbers stranded in stations or roaming the streets. Tokyo's Narita airport was closed indefinitely.

I can't believe this isn't on any of my news channels where I am right now, and they aren't talking about anything but food or miscellaneous crap...I'm really pissed off with the mainstream media now...I have to go online just to find out what happened.

I hope everyone is okay, especially our friends that were already hit, I just found that California could have 7 foot waves.

Tsunami Alert for New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Hawaii, and others. Waves expected over the next few hours, caused by 8.9 earthquake in Japan.

I do believe those cowboys made a earthquake disaster curse in China and Japan, this year. Take a look at what they'd done to Chile last year. Hopefully they won't make an earthquake curse to India later this year because they'd raced there for Unfinished Business edition, last year and India just like the 2 countries that I'd mentioned, it is also an earthquake prone country.

After I posted the initial report (as I was about to fall asleep and I was drowsy by then), I had just seen the live NHK feed from CNN of the first tsunami waves hitting in northeastern Japan. So I knew the effects of the tsunami throughout the Pacific basin were potentially very serious. The TWC had not yet posted the 7-meter forecast though, and that is what passed through Hawaii overnight.

At this time (11:30 am EST), the first tsunami is now expected along the California coast at any time. And they are mentioning it as 7 feet, (2 meters).

This is the first trans-Pacific tsunami since the 1961 9.1 earthquake that hit Alaska and sent tsunamis that were observed in China, Japan, Hawaii, and the West Coast of the U.S. That was in an era without satellite technology or communications.

Someone in Hawaii is reporting that the sides of the Big Island that are facing towards Japan are seeing water 100 feet inland, but so far no deaths and no injuries, as the more populated areas actually are not on the north and west sides of the islands.

The one good thing out of this is that the tsunami detection and warning systems are getting their first real test since the Christmas 2004 Great Tsunami in the Indian Ocean. As most of the systems were installed or upgraded after that event.

"The 1964 Alaska earthquake, also known as the Great Alaskan Earthquake, the Portage Earthquake and the Good Friday Earthquake, was a megathrust earthquake that began at 5:36 P.M. AST on Good Friday, March 27, 1964.[2] Across south-central Alaska, ground fissures, collapsing buildings, and tsunamis resulting from the temblor caused about 131 deaths."

From Wikipedia.

I worked in Alaska about 9 years after that. The debris had been cleared away, but they had not started rebuilding in parts of Anchorage that were destroyed. Also there was a lot of cleared areas in Valdez that had not been rebuilt on.

topaz, you're being silly. Honestly, I don't think that sort of comment is appropriate given the loss of life from the earthquake in Japan. There's so much chaos in the Tokyo area right now, I'm sure WRP isn't even able to check on the safety of the local folk who helped with the production of the Japanese leg.

Narita is closed, and it isn't clear whether that is just a precaution, or because there was damage at the airport. Many of the roadways in the Tokyo area are closed as a precaution; and at the same time the 8.9 earthquake came after 2 days of numerous pre-shocks, and there have been many post-shocks since the main shock. I just hope that the additional shocks do not cause any further loss of life or serious damages, both of which are possible.

This is a truly a major disaster and it isn't over with in Japan, 2 nuclear plants are having cooling problems with their reactors. As Neobie said, my heart goes out to all the victims of the earthquake and tsunami. I am praying for our RFF family members around the world to be safe and sound.

If anyone wishes to donate, be careful, fake sites are popping up but here are 3 that are safe:

American Red Cross Go to http://www.redcross.org to donate to Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami or donate $10 by texting REDCROSS to 90999

Salvation Army: Text either the word JAPAN or QUAKE to 80888 to make a $10 donation or call 1-800-SALARMY or go to http://www.disaster.salvationarmyusa.org. Mail checks made out to "Japan Earthquake Relief" to the Salvation Army World Service Office, International Relief Fund, P.O. Box 630728, Baltimore, MD 21263

Coutzy, dramatic as that video was, I don't think it was shot very near the epicenter. I would have expected far more violent shaking than that. That looked similar to what I experienced during the 7.1 Loma Prieta earthquake near San Francisco in 1989. Lots of shaking, a bookcase knocked over but no broken windows. The cameraman was standing without too much trouble except for one brief section. I was keeping myself in a doorway and holding on to the door frame for support. The Japan earthquake was hundreds of times stronger than what I went through and if it was near the epicenter, I'd expect it to have at least knocked over the computer monitor and the microwave in the kitchen. It probably would have also immediately hurled everything from the shelves shown in the first part of the video. I'm guessing it was shot in Tokyo or somewhere similar that was a couple of hundred miles away from the epicenter.

everyone, I'd just read a tweet message today coming from Phil Keoghan himself that he will make a public service announcement on tomorrow's episode of TAR 18 about the earthquake in Japan, yesterday. So we could wait for that one and please pray for the victims as well.